Fire Emblem: The World War
by Sage96
Summary: What if each of the "Worlds" that the Fire Emblem series depicts aren't actually worlds of their own, but merely portions of an even larger world. These lands start to come together with Ike as the catalyst. It can only mean one thing, War...
1. Prologue

20 Years ago, Unknown Territory

A cloaked waited for the ship he was on to drop anchor, when he heard the sound of the large metal plunged into the water he leapt of the boat with little regard to his safety. He landed and darted across the docks that were located in the center of a large castle. He scrambled up stairs pushing past others who happened to be wearing the same type of dark clothing as him. He came to a large double door and banged on it with his forearm twice. "Your Grace!"

"Eh?" Was the immediate reply, the cloaked man waited as he heard footsteps from the other side of the door. When he realized that the door wasn't opening the cloaked man took to the door again with his forearm. "I'm coming, calm yourself." Just as the voice had said the door opened and the cloaked man was standing face to face with a man suited in full armor that used the same dark colors as the cloaked man's attire. "Come in," the man bowed his head and ducked into the room. He was quick to turn and go to one knee as the door was shut. "What is your report?"

The cloaked man nodded, "Sir Dored, I have another report from Bahara. It seems that Jullia has just struck down her brother and Celice has taken the castle. The battle is over and we are not the victors. The details are in the official report."

Dored took the scroll and, without wasting a moment, began running through it with his eyes. All the cloaked man could do was stay on his knee and wait for the obvious reaction that was to come. "Argh!" Was the first thing that Dored exclaimed. "I told that idiot Manfloy to keep that damned child in check until the time was right. That bastard got too greedy with the potential of power and let the kid slip out of his control. All that needed to be done was keep the boy in check and we wouldn't have..." Dored took a deep breath then looked to the cloaked man. With a wave the cloaked man nodded and departed from Dored's presence. "Well the others will want to hear the report," Dored took the door to his left and started up a spiral staircase. "I can't believe these stupid children and that Manfloy can't even control himself enough so he doesn't burst all over the place messing up the plans." Dored thought to himself as he reached the door at the top of the spiral staircase. He opened the door and before him was a granite round table with people all in dark colors sitting around it. Immediately upon entering he pointed across the table, "How many times have I told you not to stay out of my seat Marcellus?" He exclaimed.

"You know you like it when I keep your seat warm," was the seductive response from the woman occupying his seat.

"I know you just recently lost Murdock, your husband, in the closing part of Elibe's battles but there's no reason to act like this." Dored said as he made his way towards his seat.

"You and I both know that the marriage between us was nothing but a means to connect myself to the land of Elibe. Other than that our marriage meant nothing. And members can't get involved with each other because it would risk the chance of shattering the isolation mindset that each of the four lands have." She got up from Dored's seat as she explained.

"Exactly so erase the thought of being with me from your mind."

She slowly wrapped her arms around Dored and began speaking somewhat softly, "Well we've already lost Archanea and Tellius and those are only the reports we have back. We know that Elibe and Jugdral are going poorly for us currently and who's to say that those battles aren't over and the reports are on their way. So basically this entire group has fallen to-"

"If you know what's good for you...You will silence yourself and take your seat!" The sudden outburst startled Lady Marcellus and she made her way to her seat. "Now, I just received the report from Jugdral. It seems that Manfloy did in fact completely let go of the reigns on Julius and the boy and somehow between the two of them managed give up a weakness and die."

"This is troubling indeed," the words came from the woman sitting directly across from Dored. She put a piece of paper on top of the table for those next to her. "The item I just put on the table is the report for Elibe. I received a little while ago and was holding it with the hope that one of the reports would come back successful. The report describes in detail how Roy killed Zephiel and went on to defeat the Dark Dragon with the sword of seals. So it seems that this was a complete defeat."

"Indeed it is Yurika, and I believe that the only reason that were are still here is in fact the sole reason why this has been a complete defeat. We decided to ultimately leave the fates of the continents amongst themselves while giving minor support and manipulation. We played our hands to light, too afraid of becoming a possible connection between a continent and this fortress. Before we make another move I have a question to ask." Dored stood up and drew his large sword and put it in the center of the table. "Is there anyone here that wishes to leave the Cult now? Because there is only one way to leave." He looked around and saw that no one had taken the offer "Then I propose that we start again from scratch. We should go all in, and rather than spend most of our time hold up in this fortress while making minor excursions to the clusters we should do the exact opposite. Find ways to become powerful figures in the other continents with the same abilities that allowed you to become members of this very table. Only then can actually make a stride towards our goal.

Now Yurika stood up, "I am in agreement with you Dored, but how do we go about things now? The forces of evil have virtually been vanquished from this world. In Jugdral Julius was the last possible heir of the Loputousu blood that could use the dark spell book., in Elibe the Dark Dragon is now under close surveillance by the desert dragon tribe where she is starting to gain compassion, in Archanea the Shadow Dragon has been completely obliterated, and in Tellius where the creator of this world resides both Yuna and Ashura acted on a totally different level than what we had hypothesized resulting in a loss for use no matter how the end battle turned out. In short what will we do now that all the powers of darkness that we have been secretly pushing behind have all been obliterated."

"You will see firsthand the effects of the "heroism" of this age. There is a saying that we will commit ourselves to utterly, "A land long united must divide, a land long divided must unite. All we need to do is just wait until the divide then put ourselves in places that can manipulate the method in which the lands are united and then the world."

Bahara Castle – Present

There were a large number of people gathered around a long dining table in an equally large room. Everyone present was dressed extravagantly and the rich food in front of the bespoke of the wealth in the room. Amongst it all the person at the head of the table sitting in the throne like wooden chair stood up. "My friends we are gathered here at the table for the claim I made one and a half decades ago. I said 15 years ago that every five years we should meet here at the location of the final battle and feast and make a joyous occasion of this day, the day in which Julius was defeated and the land was saved from tyranny. While you all know must know that my ulterior motive for having this feast was so that I could see the faces of my closest friends every once in a while. Some of you live in the same building," The man who was known as the Prince of Light, Celice, looked to his left to see Julia and her husband Lester. "Some live so far away I can only afford to see them on this very occasion," now Celice turned and looked at his mentor, Shaanan, who couldn't help but smirk. "I'm just overjoyed when I look around this long table and see all the smiling faces, for so long we were able to keep this great peace that we had to fight so hard to attain. I can only hope that we can continue this long standing of peace, but for now I beg all of you, please raise your cups." As Celice commanded the members of the feast who were also members of Celice's army of light 20 years ago. "Now a moment to remember our parents and other supporters the fact that, despite some discrepancies, they all died trying to bring about the very same peace that we have now." He paused he started to think of the father that he never knew but heard so much about. "Now let us begin the feast!" With that Celice took the cup and drank the contents. He sat down and immediately felt a hand on his shoulder.

Celice put his hand on the slender hand and turned to face Tinny, "It was a good speech dear." Celice smiled and nodded at her vote of approval.

"I was about as nervous as the other three times I made the speech." Celice looked around as everyone was enjoying each other's company as well as the food. "It always warms my heart though, to think that immediately after the battle off Bahara we all scattered to the four winds, seeing as how we were all nobility and had lands to govern, yet we still can come together and be friends as if we hadn't left each other's side." Tinny smiled at Celice's positive assessment of the situation.

Suddenly someone nudged Celice in the shoulder, "Don't tell me your awareness is dulling after all these years of peace." Celice couldn't help but chuckle when he looked at the face of his good friend Arthur. Arthur dabbed his face with a handkerchief, "Was it really this warm when we were fighting here?"

"We did have to fight Hilda and her fire mages so I think it was just as hot if not hotter." Arthur couldn't help but laugh at the cheesy joke. "But you and your Holsety were a great help in defeating Hilda. Ah but it's not right to reminisce on such violent times, how is Fee?"

"She's fine, she actually couldn't wait for the chance to let her new Pegasus out for a long journey. She usually can only use her Pegasus to lead the other Pegasus Knights or small strolls. So getting out of Silesia is a really good thing for her, not to mention that she gets to meet everyone again."

"That's good then, I just want everyone to be happy," Celice said.

Finally Tinny rose from her seat and shoved Arthur a little, "You can't even say hello to your one and only sister?" Celice started laughing as Arthur started fumbling over himself trying to come up with words to say.

"W-well the thing is I had a surprise for you. There's someone I wanted you to meet." Arthur turned to a couple servants and gave them a signal. The servants scattered leaving Tinny and Celice with a confused look. In moments an older man entered the room and looked directly at Tinny with a smile. When Tinny saw who was standing there her expression lit up. Immediately she ran into his arms leaving Arthur to watch and smile, inwardly patting himself on the back.

"Just incredible Arthur, you managed to find him despite all our attempts in the past two decades. How'd you do it?"

"Well unlike my father there I was able to look deeper into Holsety and discovered that it had some powers liken to that of the Valkyrie staff. So I scoured Grandbell and found him wandering, then I took him to Corpul and Rana who were staying in Jungby with Faval. When Corpul laid the Valkyrie staff to father's forehead it restored even more of his mind."

When Tinny heard the words she looked up at Levin who seemed to be looking at her with a new pair of eyes, in comparison with the ones he saw her with during Celice's campaign. "Is it true? Are you healed father?"

"For the most part, I can recall a lot of things, for better and for worse." Levin said as he stroked his daughter's hair, smiling.

"Sorry to interrupt Celice," Celice turned to look at his good friend Leaf. "My son Abel wanted nothing more than to come, but I told him not to. So he gave me a letter that he wanted to be delivered to your son. Do you have any idea where he is so I can send a runner to him with the letter?"

"Oh, I can take that Leaf, Aden is actually outside of Bahara entertaining the King of Augustria."

"You know you don't have to be so formal, Cain is your relative you know?"

"Yes, his great-grandfather and my grandfather are one in the same." Leaf nodded, "Still, while I have the utmost respect for Aless and Altenna he acts pompous sitting on the throne his father created. I don't get the feeling he doesn't respect the trials the others that sit in the same position as him had to go through."

"Well that may be true, but he is still a boy with much promise to become a great man that can be compared to his grandfather on his father's side."

"Eltosian was in fact a very great and noble man. He had all the power to take a Kingdom that was in fact being run poorly, yet he remained loyal to his master. There aren't too many like him in the universe. Not corrupted by the great power that the gods have given him." Celice sighed and took the letter, "I'll make sure that my son gets this letter."

Outside Bahara

A servant sat on a small hill watching as three young men were perched in the fields not too far away. The servant observed as the young man in the middle drew his bowstring and released letting loose a deadly arrow that pierced a deer right in the middle of its body. Immediately the servant began clapping, "A very good shot Master Aden, but my lord, don't you think that you should head back and assist your father in entertaining guests at the castle?"

A slight smirk crept up on Aden's face as he turned to the servant, "Ah, but I am in fact entertaining a guest, and Dalton is helping me. Remember that Cain is in fact the King of Augustria, so don't simply dismiss him." He looked as the servant raised his hands up and let out a soft sight, Aden marked the conversation as a win for him. "You did the worst again in this round Cain, you have to go get the game."

Cain set his bow, "Tch, the King of Augustria doesn't cower behind a bow. Give me a sword and I'll show you who would be the worst of the round. Even a spear and I would win using the skills my mother imparted upon me." He said with a slightly agitated tone.

"Come now Cain, you seemed so confident when we set the rules, besides griping here won't bring the game over here any faster." Aden watched as Cain sulked over to the two downed deer and crouched low to gather them up. "And you forget that I am a direct descendant of Baldo, so naturally my swordsmanship skills are top notch as well." Cain passed Aden and tossed the deer onto the pile of game that the trio had accumulated during the extent of their contest.

"Maybe one day your father will let us spar and see which one of us is truly the better." He came over and picked up his bow and immediately began inspecting the bow in a manner that suggested that he believed the item to be beneath him. "Ah, but Dalton you are the master of the cowards weapon. Ichival's blood runs in your veins."

Dalton finally turned to Cain finally paying attention to his complaints, "Just because I am better at standing back and taking in the picture as a whole rather than run headfirst into the first thing in sight does not make me a coward. Besides that fact why are all these complaints suddenly coming now that you are losing by so wide a margin." What was odd was the fact that Dalton's voice or face refused to show any anger or annoyance, but rather his features remained collected.

"Whoa, Dalton I merely jest, no need to become so severe."

Aden started to laugh at the situation that had just unfolded, "Just give up Cain, you will never rile Dalton and whenever you try his counter is always as cold as ice."

"Yes yes, he just reminded me of his skill with the tongue."

Aden settled after his bout of laughter, "Well let's take the game back to the castle, maybe the head chef make some quality venison with this." Aden turned to to the servant, "Can you grab the cart we brought with us, load the game, and take it to the head chef?"

"Ah, but of course my lord. It shall be done," the servant dipped his head low. Aden smiled and tossed a couple of gold coins to the servant who smiled and nodded. "As always Master Aden is very generous."

Castle Ostia – Present

A full grown Roy sat at comfortably in a chair in front of a roaring fireplace. He looked out the window and saw the snow gently falling from the sky to coat the ground. He was wearing a rather regal looking burgundy robe with golden trim. Roy heard the footsteps behind him and made an assumption as to who it was.

"Your majesty, your esteemed guest has arrived."

"Yes of course," Roy rose to his feet and turned to face his guest. He looked at him and smiled, "Ah, you look much better out of that tattered armor of yours. I'll have the smiths polish it while you stay in the castle." Roy made the statement while he observed the teal robe that his guest was outfitted in.

"Oh, but Lord Roy, I couldn't possibly expect you to take advantage off such a kind soul. I am only here because you insisted that at the very least I stay the night."

"Indeed, you can leave us now." Roy motioned his servant away and beckoned his guest to sit. Reluctantly his guest made his way to the seat that was opposite Roy. From the initial glance Roy's guest could tell that Roy was completely interested in him. "Now what did you say your name was?"

"Ike," he said firmly.

"Ike," Roy said quickly to himself, as if he had never head a name like it in his life. "Now Ike, you said you aren't from any land on Elibe. When I heard a man like that, let alone a warrior such as yourself, was wandering around Lycia I just had to meet you. I would have gone and searched for you personally, but the duties of a King keep me away from the public unless it is to give a big speech. Please you must tell me of how you got here and what this land of yours is like." Roy was on the edge of his seat when he heard a knock on the door. Turning he observed the door, "Who is it?"

"Ah, it's me Roy; you didn't tell me that your son was so strong. I tried to give him a lesson like back in the days, but it quickly turned into a sparring match on equal grounds without using my crystal." The speaker barged in with a smile on his face.

"How many times have I told you Al, my son is a monster. He has the strength of Lilina's father, Hector, and the finesse of my father Eliwood combined into one person. I don't even know if I could match my son in my prime let alone now that my age is starting to get to me." Al smirked and continued into the room.

"Oh you're not that old Roy, you keep selling yourself short. The reason why you probably couldn't beat your son, is that you can't bring it upon yourself to fight him seriously."

"Still I'm almost 40, it's not an age where I can jump into sparring on a whim. Keep in mind my body is a normal human unlike yourself. How are Gant and Tina by the way?"

"They couldn't be any happier now that Castle Tania has been rebuilt. It's just never ending smiles with them. I mean-"

"Um father?"

Roy focused in on the source of the voice which was immediately behind Al. "Oh, why didn't you tell me Van was standing right behind you Al!?"

Al smirked and started scratching his head, "Uh, I kinda forgot." Ike couldn't help but chuckle because of Al's demeanor. "But we can all come in right?"

Roy let out a sigh and nodded, Al and Van both entered and pulled up chairs. "All right, so Ike, to my right is my son Van, the Prince of the Lycia Kingdom." He placed his hand on the deep purplish blue hair of his son and rustled it. "To my right is Al, who is actually a very complicated person. His father is a legendary warrior who fought the dragons of this land, and his mother was a in fact one of the very dragons that his father had tried so hard to destroy. Things happened and Al was frozen as a child and thawed out around this time period. In this time period he was raised by a blacksmith who knew his history as a half dragon."

Ike nodded his head, "I see, you are a very complicated man indeed."

"So what brings you to Lycia, and Elibe in general?"

"Well I came to this Kingdom because I had heard a rumor that my partner, Ranulf, the person I came to the continent was around here. My friend Ranulf would probably be seen as very strange to people like yourselves, all I can say is that he looks like a large cat or a half cat half man." Ike observed the weird looks on the faces of his listeners with amusement. "Well we shipwrecked on Elibe after sailing for quite some time. I don't have an exact grasp of time that we've been sailing, but it was indeed a long time as you could most likely tell from my condition when you found me. I can't remember all the minute details from the sail, the days kind of blended together over time now that I try and recall them. But the land from which I came, Tellius is much different than yours. The most noticeable thing about your land lacks Laguz."

"Laguz?" Al asked.

"Yes, they are a race of people that do not use weapons, but rather transform into creatures and do battle in this fashion. For example, I've learned from the townsfolk around the castle that the dragons in this land are all extinct, but on Tellius the Dragons thrive as a tribe of Laguz."

Roy listened with a face that expressed concern, "Isn't that dangerous? I mean dragons are so powerful that should they wish it they could easily start an attack on your lands and put you all in danger."

Ike laughed a little, "Your majesty, you should know through the trials that I have heard you go through that any one nation is completely capable of attacking another nation. It doesn't matter who that nation is made up of, but in the end any force that acts without thinking their actions through will ultimately come to regret their inclination to war."

Roy nodded, "You couldn't be more correct Master Ike."

"Oh no your majesty, I have no need for such titles."

"But you deserve them, for someone who thinks on such a level so readily, and by the aura you emit I can tell that you yourself accomplished great things in this land of Tellius. So why shouldn't I refer to you as master?" Roy said in response.

Ike sighed, "I know a nation who wished for the same thing, to decorate me with titles and high ranking positions..." Ike took a moment to recall his friends back on Tellius, most of whom where probably still wandering around Crimea. "Still I prefer to just be me, not Ike the Grand General, Council member, or even master."

"You are like my father in that respect, I heard stories that they nearly had to stuff my father's rewards down his throat," Van snickered as he began. Roy let out a sigh as he knew the story that was going to come up. "Not only did he try to say that anyone could have lead the Eturian army and defeated the Bern-Dragon alliance but his followers practically had to nail him down in his throne at the head of Ostia. He even tried to escape taking credit for being a pivotal figure in rebuilding and consolidating Lycia."

"An interesting list of achievements, it is no wonder that you are now a King," Ike said briefly.

Al finally spoke up tired of the current topic, "Can we stop gossiping about how great we are and get back to the story?" Roy nodded and turned back to Ike waiting for the continuing of his story.

"Yes, well..." Ike began.

Castle Nevassa

In the courtyard there were two people, both wielding swords. The older one appeared to be watching the younger go through standard motions, "Come on now, put some heart into it! One, two, thrust!"

"You keep saying this, but how is swinging on air going to improve my skills Edward?"

To this Edward smiled, "Ah a very good judgment, but the only person you could spar would be me, and you wouldn't survive more than three seconds against me without going through these drills."

"You think so? I know that throughout both the Mad King War and the War of the Gods you were the only person to ever fight on equal footing with the legendary Ike and live to this day but that was roughly two decades ago. By know you must have gotten slower, enough so that I could probably-"

Edward held out his hand, stopping his pupil mid-sentence, "No more words on your part." Edward walked to a position that was directly opposite his student. "Gideon you really do know how provoke your teacher. I shall humor you, but you will not like the results."

Gideon smirked, "Ah, but I've improved in the last month." The two stood with their wooden weapons drawn. Gideon made the first move stepping in and raising his sword for a vertical slash.

Edward smiled and stepped forward as well, "One!" As Gideon brought down his sword Edward through his up with his superior strength deflected Gideon's with his own sword, "Two!" Redirecting his sword Edward pointed it at Gideon, who was still preoccupied by being thrown off balance, "Thrust!" Edward did as he said and jabbed Gideon just above his heart. Gideon dropped his sword and fell back to his behind. "And like I said it was less than three seconds."

"If you're just going to taunt my son then leave Edward," Edward turned towards the entrance of the Castle and saw a figure emerging.

Immediately Edward bowed, "Your majesty."

"I know we were comrades before, but I hired you so I expect that you do the job I paid you for." It was none other than Sothe who was scolding Edward. "Two decades and you're just as cheeky as ever, and if I recall you only managed to fight evenly with Ike before he was blessed by Yune and granted additional strength. I think it's safe to say that you wouldn't stand a chance if you fought seriously now."

"Eh? How long were you there father?" Gideon said scrambling to his feet.

"Long enough to hear you praise him and goad him into a fight at the same time. Please, treat him like a teacher while he is giving you lessons. I have no qualms with you being friends, but please not when I'm paying him, okay?" Gideon nodded, consenting to his father's wishes. A couple of horsemen galloped out of the castle lugging a horse by the reins. "Gideon my son, I'm going to Marado to speak to Fiona about possibly raising the taxes there. Your mother is inside the castle, when your lesson is finished don't forget to check in with her." Sothe mounted the horse that was brought out and looked down to his son who was looking away at the moment.

As if to miss every part of the conversation that didn't concern him Edward piped up, "You always did praise Ike, like he was the best thing since butter on bread. Just because you helped the guy out once or twice doesn't mean you have to worship the ground that he walks on. I mean really-"

Sothe snapped his head to look at Edward with a piercing gaze that forced the latter to stop talking. "You should watch how you talk about the person who is largely credited with saving this entire land."

"Sire," one of the horseman began, "We're starting to fall off schedule."

"Of course, two things before I go Edward. You should go in and see Micaiah too, most of the people she considers friends from back in the day have scattered to the four winds. As much as you hate going too far into your past you are a member of the Dawn Brigade and there is no doubt in my mind that she would love to see you again."

Edward smiled and scratched his head, "Yeah I'll go in with Gideon."

"Ah but the second thing is actually something of interest to you." Sothe's face slowly turned into a devious smirk, "It seems your "rival" has been seen walking around the city." Edward's eyes opened wide with Sothe's words. "Well that's my cue, take care." Sothe snapped his reigns and his horse burst into action taking off for the city gates followed by Daein soldiers.

"M-m-m," Edward stuttered.

"What's the matter Edward? Who's your rival?"

Edward shook his head then pressed his palm to his forehead, "You know how I'm the only one to stand toe to toe with Ike?" Gideon nodded, "Well this person never had any reason to fight Ike in a completely serious atmosphere, back during the wars I never had to fight her, but she was able to best Zihark, force Nolan to withdraw from combat and keep Leonard from contributing at all in one of our battles. This of course was while I was fighting Ike, which was the reason why I couldn't contribute. Ten years later while Mia was searching for all surviving warriors of the wars and challenging them to one on one combat she came across me. Back then I was still limber and I eagerly agreed. The result of the fight was a draw as we both mortally wounded each other. In short she is the only person in this land I can't fight without being prepared to die, or then I'll forfeit my pride by losing while fighting halfheartedly."

"I see, that is an incredible story Edward. I think we should end the lesson here today and you can come inside the castle and tell me more stories of your ventures in the wars."

"Of course, did I ever tell you of the time Daein's forces managed to squeeze Ike's army in a trap that we laid for them? It was a great day of battle for the liberation army." Edward said whilst laughing.

Gideon smiled, "One thing you've never done Edward, is let your stories go out of style. The four people I could remember in my very first memories are my father, my mother, Nolan, and you. Yet despite that your stories have never become old and dry."

Edward rubbed his nose, "Heh, I guess I just have a way with words."

* * *

**Sage: **Three things to note, first is that this story goes under the assumption that all of the final battles of each of the Fire Emblems, such as Roy defeating the Dark Dragon, or Ike defeating Ashera, are happening at roughly the same time (in the same year if you're looking for specifics). Second is that the character Al is not a original character, along with Gant and Tina. These three come from the Elibe side story Fire Emblem Hasha No Tsurugi (The Champion's Blade) and I will draw on a couple of these characters in the story. Lastly is that, if you hadn't already noticed, I have implemented pairings between characters that I believe would bring about the most interest.

While you may be thinking things are going to move slowly this is just the prologue, to give at least some perspective on where and how some of the characters from the different games are doing. I hope you enjoyed seeing how some of these characters act 20 years after their pivotal success.


	2. The Seeds Are Sown

**Sage: **Just a note for future reference: I will be introducing FE 11 and not FE 1-3. Any events that happen in FE 1-3 that don't happen in FE 11 will not be considered. Sorry if you were big FE 1-3 fans.

* * *

Dored finished climbing the spiraling staircase and stood in front of the large double doors. Preparing himself he opened the door and began to speak immediately. "Countess, I'm going to have to insist that you stop fooling around." He was speaking to Marcellus who was sitting in his seat, which was a normal occurrence. She smiled and recrossed her legs under her dress.

"You will have to be more specific Dored." Marcellus scoffed.

"Are the portal preparations finished?" Dored said as he moved towards his seat; his cape gently wafted behind him as he moved. Marcellus took the hint and vacated the chair in favor of her own. Dored moved his cape out from under him before he sat. "I've already released the two interlopers a week and a half ago. If those portals aren't ready there will be major repercussions."

Marcellus laughed a little, "Relax Dored, the work on the portals are completely finished. One thing Nergal did well when he discovered the Dragon's Gate was examining it thoroughly. Thanks to him, building duplicates of the Dragon's Gate became a mere matter of manpower. There are Dragon's Gates set up in each of the continent clusters and I can control their destination from here."

"Good, is your Laguz battalion ready Oz?" When he said this Dored was looking across the table at a giant of a man. He had dark skin, almost burnt, and long dark hair.

"Bwa ha ha, it's okay on my end. I can't get my men to simmer." His laughter and speech were both incredibly deep, which complimented his appearance well.

Yurika, who was sitting quietly at the table, couldn't help but let a grin creep up on his face. She finally decided to speak up, "It's finally going to be set in motion. We, the keepers of true story, have tried pushing our influence onto the world before; that attempt ended in failure. It has been two decades of lying in wait and we are ready again. To unify everything under one entity. To shed the light of truth on everything."

"Tch, we don't need your preaching Yurika," Dored said abruptly. "Just do your part and keep the Senators of Begnion out of the loop."

Yurika stood opposing Dored. She eyed him with an evil intent veiled behind her green eyes. "You should respect someone who has so much more importance than you." Her words were both cold and sharp.

Dored slammed his hand on the table, "Was it not me who advised this council against the tactics used 20 years ago!?" Dored looked around the table, trying to gauge the expressions of those seated. Dored rose up from his seat. "And whose plan was finally accepted after we received a flood of defeats all in the span of a year!?" He paused to let the information sink in, "The answer to both of those question is me. I am the one who organized the plan thus far, and unless I am killed or rendered unable to function properly I will be the one to lead this plan. And why shouldn't I have control of the very plan I've fostered from the moment we received our defeat 20 years ago." He paused again. From the look on his eyes, all those present could see that Dored was looking for anyone willing to challenge his claim. "Now I believe that makes me the most important person, so don't tell me otherwise. Oz, go get your men and ready yourselves at the portal. Marcellus, set the portal to Augustria." Dored left his seat and went for the large double doors, "We start today!"

City of Ostia

It was generally peaceful in the city. People went about trying to finish their work for the day. A unit of horsemen, disrupted the normality in the town as they galloped towards the center of the city. Among those mounted on horseback were Al, Van, Ike, and Roy. As the horses moved inwards they could see civilians running away in terror. As they drew near a man came out and held up his hands, commanding them to stop. "Lord Roy, I'm glad you received the runner I sent." The man turned to the situation that was starring the group in the face, "We spotted the creature around the arena. It was wreaking havoc, and it was much too strong for any of the castle or city guards to handle. I didn't want to jump in myself without your consent."

"As always you have good judgment, Oujay. I did right by appointing you captain of the city guard." Roy looked towards the arena and saw what Oujay just finished explaining. There on front of the arena was a cat with blue hair. The color wasn't the only thing out of order, but its size was equal to that of an average panther.

When Ike saw the creature he moved his horse forward. "Ranulf!?" He waited for a response, but none came from the cat.

With his curiosity peaked Roy asked, "You know this creature Ike?"

"He is my traveling companion your majesty, he's the Laguz I spoke to you about."

"So he can actually take human form?" Ike nodded answering Roy's question.

Rushing over Ike tried to call out to his friend, "Ranulf, it's me, Ike!" Sure enough, the creature turned to Ike. Unfortunately it wasn't because he was acknowledging Ike as his companion. The creature immediately leapt towards Ike. In an instant the creature had Ike pinned on the ground; with his claws sunk into Ike's shoulders. All Ike could do was fidget, trying desperately to free himself.

As the scene unfolded Roy dismounted from his horse, "Al and Oujay we are going to apprehend that creature. Use weapons but nothing fatal." Roy unsheathed his sword followed by Al with his own blade and Oujay brandished an axe.

"I can handle this your majesty!" Ike shouted while being held down. "Something is wrong, it's like my strength is escaping me. Normally, I should be able to match a veteran Tiger Laguz in strength, but now I can't even best Ranulf. It just feels terribly wrong..." Ike thought inwardly. Realizing that his strength wouldn't be enough Ike opted for a more peaceable method. "Ranulf, calm yourself. It's me, Ike, I know you can hear me." After saying the words Ike could feel the pressure of the claws lessen and when he looked it was because the creature's paws were becoming a human hands. When Ike turned back to the face of his friend he smiled because he was indeed looking into the face of Ranulf.

"Ike? W-what happened," Ranulf rolled off of Ike and got into a sitting position. "One second I was coming up to a city and the next thing I know I'm digging my claws into you." Ranulf started slapping his face in an attempt to wake up and realize his position. "Ah, sorry about your shoulder Ike."

"Don't worry about it, though I'm more concerned about the fact that I couldn't do anything about it. To put it bluntly, I should have been able to get you off of me. It's like my strength disappeared somewhere along our travels."

Roy approached the two, "I was worried, but everything appears to be okay." Roy waved his hand over and a nearby priestess hustled over. The priestess handed Roy a small scroll before he touched Ike with his healing wand and Ike's wounds slowly closed. "I want you to all come back to the castle, and we can go over the events today. I'll also decide your punishment for all this destruction there Ranulf."

The last part of Roy's words alarmed Ike, "W-wait your majesty! This was just a misunderstanding. I am more than willing to take full responsibility for my partner. Something happened and he was in an unfamiliar setting. I should have kept him under-"

With a grim tone Ranulf cut his friend off, "Ike...from what I can tell I've wreaked havoc on an important area of the city. Who knows how many people have been hurt." He rose to his feet and dusted himself off, "I'm not a child Ike, I don't need you trying to cover up for my mistakes." He then turned to Roy, "I'm ready to accept any punishment you give."

It was at this point that Van started to laugh along with Al. Ike looked in their direction with a face contorted in aggravation. "What is so funny about this situation? I thought we were friends!?"

Van wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes, "Father would never go for such a drastic action, especially when he thinks so highly of you. Your friend is completely safe, though he will be punished."

Ike turned to Roy, "I have decided the sentence." Roy turned back around to face Ike and Ranulf, "Your punishment is that before you are allowed to leave you will help fix everything you've broken." Ike and Ranulf both smiled when they heard the news, "By the looks on your faces I can see that you believe this a fair punishment then?"

Castle Nodion

In the throne room a messenger was on his knee waiting for an action from the king. Cain motioned and the messenger rose from his knee. "What is this urgent business you have to discuss?"

The messenger swallowed hard. "My lord, an army is appearing to the west of the castle at this very moment. Reports are that this army is made up of strange tailed creatures. Captain Gordon has his patrolling troops already at the area, but they were vastly outnumbered before I even left."

"This is dire news indeed, it is lucky that I did not opt to stay in Bahara long. You, go immediately and request help from Faval in Jungby, he is the closest to the battlefield you speak of. If he can hit these creatures from the rear with his Archer Knights it will, in the worst case scenario, jostle them enough to bring the full force of Augustria. I'll send other runners to the other castles and tell the dukes to gather their forces and come to the battle."

"Of course my lord, I will not return without Lord Faval." Cain nodded and he himself went to get prepared for battle. "It looks like dark days are soon approaching, and I must look out for the land of my forefathers."

___

"Everyone is here correct?" Cain was on horseback as he addressed the men. He quickly counted the ten present. Satisfied he moved to the front of the formation, "Our target is on the outskirts of Castle Nodion. Cross Knights, advance and destroy the target!" There was a resounding roar coming from the knights behind him as he set his horse into full motion. With blazing speed they set out, hooves tearing up the ground beneath them.

After ten minutes of intense riding Cain and his Cross Knights could see a small skirmish up ahead. As they closed in Cain started to realize something. The closer and closer he got the more and more he realized that there wasn't a skirmish in front of him. He watched a monster leap onto a soldier and tear him to shreds. What Cain rushed towards wasn't a skirmish, but a massacre. Cain raised the holy weapon Mistoltin, entrusted to him by his father, "Do not fear my Cross Knights. If you falter how will others follow your example and go into battle? How can you falter while watching your fellow countrymen be annihilated? We go now to do our duty!" There was no great roar like before from Cain's Cross Knights, but at the same time their speed did not decrease. Cain surmised that they assumed that they would forfeit their lives in the coming encounter.

Cain met the monsters first, and he realized that they looked to be giant tigers. Cain swung his holy weapon and the blade glided through the skin of the beast. The beast let out a roar before falling limb, taking this small victory Cain raised his sword again. "These monsters can be defeated!" When Cain turned back to see his men he smiled inwardly at the fact that the spirits of his knights were renewed. Suddenly one of the beasts leapt and took one of the Cross Knights clean off his horse. Realizing that this was still a serious matter Cain turned back to focus on the battle at hand. It was a grueling battle as the elite Augustrian knights fought valiantly against the beasts. Cain realized that because of the size difference in their forces it would ultimately turn out badly for his knights. "Cross Knights, re-" before he could call out the next command Cain himself was thrown from his mount. What had happened was a beast swatted the horse Cain was riding forcing the mount itself to fall. Cain hit the ground with his back and winced as the shock of pain rippled throughout his body. Now, off of his mount, the sounds of battle seemed all the more vivid and the grunts of his mean and snarls of the beasts started filling his ears.

"We can't have you pulling your men back. That just wouldn't do!" Cain realized that the beast in front of him was speaking. He looked a little bigger than the other beasts and, upon closer inspection, he carried the features of a lion as opposed to a tiger.

"You can speak demon?" Cain brandished Mistoltin waiting for the beast to make an attack.

"Ah, Dored is very smart, to send a race of people that you have never experienced to disturb your peace."

"What do you mean? Who is this Dored?"

Finally the beast made a large sweeping motion with his paw forcing Cain to jump back. "Sorry, I was thinking aloud, you my prey only need to remember two things. Oz, which is the name of your killer, and I the fact that I am a High General of the Laguz!" Oz came down with his paw in an attempt to claw Cain vertically. Cain jumped back, letting the paw pass him, then jumped in with his sword at the ready.

A ways away there was another set of horseman coming onto the battle from the opposite direction. The man at the head of the unit held up a golden bow, "I swear on this Holy Bow Ichival that I will not let Cain die!" Faval was the one at the head of the unit, with eyes full of experience he pointed his bow and took out an arrow. Slowly he pulled the arrow back on the string, "Let this arrow mark our entrance into the battle!" Faval let the arrow fly and fly it did. The arrow whizzed through the messy skirmish and sunk into the side of a beast's head, killing it immediately.

Cain simply looked at the beast who called itself Oz as it laid on the ground. Cain could see the arrow that was protruding from Oz's skull and could only assume reinforcements had come. Cain looked around and slowly but surely the Tigers began to change, becoming more human in physique. "What on Earth?" Even Oz, who was dead started to turn back into a human as if some time limit had passed on all of the combatants. Not even taking a moment to ponder the events, Cain raised Mistoltin into the air. "All these monsters are sentenced to death, effective immediately!" The remaining Cross Knights, four in number, immediately went to work killing off the now humanistic beasts. Cain moved quickly and snatched one, "You though, you will serve a life of imprisonment while you tell me your nature."

"My pride would never allow me to lower my head to you!" The beast-man spit on Cain's face.

"Bastard," Cain through the beast-man on the ground and raised Mistoltin. Treating the elegant weapon like a butcher's knife Cain cut off the beast-man's arm. Through the beast-man's screams he grinned sadistically, "Do you still want to spit on me?" Cain raised his weapon and brought it down again, "Well foul demon? I am waiting for your disgusting act of defiance!" Again Cain's weapon came up and went down, "Conjure your saliva! I dare you fiend!" For a final time Cain's weapon flashed in the air before coming down. "You have no need for the word pride anymore, when I ask you a question you will answer it, and serve the rest of your days in this pitiful state of yours."

Finally Faval came up to Cain, "I see you've apprehended one of the beasts. It was smart of you to restrict him in the fashion. We can keep his core alive with just that, lest his heart was located in one of his limbs.

"Rope! Give me rope!" It was if Faval's words had completely passed over Cain's head. Conveniently a Cross Knight's mount had rope hanging on the saddle. The owner of the mount took the rope and handed it to Cain who then proceeded to wrap the bloody mess that was his prisoner. He then tied the rope to the saddle of the Cross Knight's mount. "Go back to the castle with that as our trophy, I will be back shortly and we can discuss our next course of action from there. Go fast! I want him to feel pain!" The Cross Knight nodded and mounted his horse. "Spit on me will you?" Cain mumbled to himself as he finally put his hand on his face and wiped the demeaning saliva from his face. Cain looked up to Faval, who was still mounted, "Ah, Lord Faval, I am very grateful for your assistance. You introduction to the battle secured this victory today."

"I did not know that this boy contained such a malicious side to him," Faval thought inwardly. "I could do nothing but assemble my men as fast as possible when such a threat is relayed to my ears. I was very glad to help." Faval looked around as the remaining Cross Knights butchered any of the beasts still breathing. "His change was so quick, it was as if his bout of madness had never occurred." Faval thought.

"I already have runners going to the various lords of this realm, I will have them camped near Castle Nodion in case this enemy should resurface. Meanwhile I will go back to the Castle and see what I can not learn from the captured beast." Cain moved to take one of the mounts that luckily survived the battle.

"I trust you will contact Celice in Bahara if you find anything significant?" Cain nodded and Faval was satisfied. "Then I will return to Jungby with my Archer Knights." He turned his unit around and started back for his castle.

Nevassa

The city of Nevassa was thriving with activity as its civilians hustled around trying to get their daily chores done. Most of the buzz was coming from the market section as people were selling weapons, food, and anything else that could be priced. Gideon and Edward were in this section of the city; in particular Gideon was doing some personal shopping. As he pulled away from the store he walked up to Edward, "So are you going to be living with us from now on?"

"What? Why would you say that Gideon?" Edward said as he waited for Gideon to pass him before starting to walk.

"Well you've been living in the castle's guest wing for the past couple of weeks." Edward winced when his pupil called him out on the obvious fact. Gideon stopped, devoting his time to just thinking rather than multi-tasking. "In fact, when father told you that Mia was seen in Nevassa you came in and asked mother to let you stay in the castle for a couple of days. Does that mean you are scared of fighting Mia?" Gideon had a devious smirk on his face, as if he had just discovered a treasure of some sort.

Edward sighed, "The last time I fought Mia was back when we were both young and still in our prime. Now I'm in the larger side of my 30's and I don't know if I still have my flare. Mia on the other hand has been fighting this whole time, going from one opponent to the next, so even if she's lost some of her shine she still at least has the confidence to know that she can still fight. I've been pouring all my knowledge into you so you can fight and be better than I ever was so I can only say I have confidence in your ability."

"That's really sweet but," Gideon started to laugh a little, "You just confirmed the fact that you're scared of facing Mia again."

"Fine, I've already heard this enough from Sothe as well. Micaiah seems to be the only one who can sympathize with others in Daein's royal family. I'll go and find Mia and accept her challenge. I'll even set the match up in the arena so I can put on a show for the people. In fact I'll go do it right now, you can find your own way back." An aggravated Edward started walking away from Gideon.

"Wait master, did I say something wrong?" To Gideon's question Edward simply raised his hand in farewell. Gideon sighed before turning back to the plaza. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a unique shop. It appeared to be a fortune teller. Gideon noticed that the fortune teller was looking his way and quickly averted his gaze.

The fortune teller smiled, "I saw you boy, why don't you come here at let me read your fortune? I promise it will be a harmless process; I can tell from your clothes that you have enough to afford the small fee."

Gideon sighed and moved towards the fortune teller, "It isn't polite to assume that I have money."

"But in the end I have a business to run, however small." The fortune teller smiled as Gideon sat down in the chair in front of the booth. "Now the fee is two gold pieces." Gideon nodded and handed the fortune teller her money. "Thank you, now I will tell your fortune by reading your aura then draw a single tarot card. Those two combined will give me a definition that I will relate to you." Gideon waited for a moment or so, but the fortune teller didn't continue. "Tell you what, since you are the prince of Daein I will give you whatever tarot card I draw to remind you of this reading. Think of it as a present."

"How did you know that I was the prince?" Gideon asked in a tone that matched his surprise.

To this the fortune teller responded, "Because I was looking at your aura just now. In all my years I have only heard of two types of nobility, those who are righteous and those who are corrupt. Your aura screams the fact that you are a righteous noble. With that I just assumed, since the province we are on is ruled by the king and queen directly." Gideon nodded seeing the explanation as a valid one. "That is beside the point young prince. I have read your aura thoroughly and am ready to draw the tarot card. Are you prepared?" Gideon nodded and the fortune teller set the deck of cards on the table and shuffled them once. "From here we shall leave things to fate..." the fortune teller took the top card from the deck and set it in the middle of the table in front of her and Gideon. After putting the deck away she slowly flipped the card. She sighed deeply as she looked at the skeleton that appeared grimly on the face of the card. "Very soon," she began, "there will be painful change."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"It will be a change that you will fight desperately. Do not mistake me; this change will result in a massive loss of life. For this change when linked to an aura of nobility will always bring a tremendous loss of life along with it."

"I-I honestly don't know what to make of this. I sit down here and you suddenly tell me that people will die? That things, as they are, will start to change?"

"Young prince, may I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"How do you define time?"

Bahara Castle (1 week after the battle near Nodion)

"I'm glad you came Cain, and with such haste at that." In the throne room Cain stood before a seated Celice completely outfitted in his royal armor. Celice was quick to rise from his seat so as not to show disrespect towards his equal. "We should go somewhere private where you can discuss the details with me."

"Of course," Cain watched as Celice came down from the elevated throne. Cain always felt a building feeling of inferiority towards Celice. The feelings were there ever since Cain became the ruler of Augustria and was starting to be seen on the same stage as Celice. Just the fact that Celice was the 'Prince of Light' was enough to shatter Cain. Just the air that existed around Celice seemed to speak of his accomplishments. Cain was only standing on works that those before him had accomplished. Celice beckoned Cain to follow him and the latter did. The two entered a private room where Faval, Lester, Julia, and Tinny were already seated. "Cain, please take any seat you wish." Celice of course took the seat at the head of the table. Cain opted for the seat that was next to Faval.

"I'm surprised Faval, how did you get here so fast?"

"Most of it was protocol, to give aid to you I had to act without getting confirmation from Celice. While I have no doubt that he would have accepted my request and probably sent his own troops sending a rider to Bahara would have taken far too long. As a result I sent my knights back to Jungby and headed directly here to deliver my report. After I gave my account of the battle I opted to stay here for some time, purely on instinct."

"I see-"

Before Cain could continue Celice raised his hand to silence the table. "I'm sorry, but these matters are dire indeed. We have no idea when they will strike next or what we will be fighting. So I must ask that Cain begin telling us the information needed."

And so Cain divulged the information to the members present in great detail...

___

Celice fumbled around with the information in his head, "I see, so these creatures call themselves Laguz, and they have been using a portal to travel across the uncharted seas in an instant."

"It strikes me as strange that they would not appear at the portal that they own and chose to appear in the middle of enemy territory." Faval appeared to speaking the minds of those present as a majority nodded in agreement.

Cain offered up more information, "He did say that they planned to use their portal to launch attacks on prime locations all over Jugdral. By striking while in the middle of a panic they would effectively take our important strongholds."

"I don't know," Julia began, "It seems to be a valid strategy. Still, you said even in their humanistic form they still had distinctive features that made them stand out as monsters?" Cain nodded. "If that is the case we have heard no word of monstrous looking creatures in these past two decades of peace. So that would make their plan essentially useless because in all likelihood they have no idea where our strongholds are."

Tinny nodded, "I agree with Julia, I think this attack was purely a blind one. Perhaps a test of their portal?"

Cain slammed his hand on the table and stood up, "No, that is one thing I can not accept." He looked around the table, "That is one thing I will not see, that 'it was just a harmless venture'. They were definitely prepared for battle, I can not think of any other reason that so many of my valiant Cross Knights were defeated."

"I must agree with Cain, if those demons could speak then why would they not try and dissuade the fight if their venture was harmless? I move that we send our own troops through the portal, all we need to do is defeat these defeat the demons that are in our immediate vicinity and then we can get a footing in their territory. From there we can find their portal and use it to ferry troops and supplies between."

Tinny turned to her husband, "Well the final decision is yours dear, I'm sure all you would have to do is speak and the whole land would move to guard against this threat."

Celice slowly rose to make his final verdict. "In this case we can't use defensive tactics because we have no idea what these people are capable of. At the very least we need to use their portal so we can see firsthand what we will be dealing with." Cain was satisfied and sat down. "Lester," Celice began, "I want runners to Shanan in Isaac, to Patty in Verdane, Leaf in Manster, and finally to Arthur in Silesia. Tell them that we'll take any support that they can offer, but to remember to leave enough troops for a serious defense should more come through in our absence. We can not enter this portal halfheartedly because we will be annihilated before we can secure their portal. We'll take as much supplies as possible, and I will be leading the venture personally."

"What? There's no need Celice! The people would be perfectly satisfied with you sending a trusted general to lead the venture. In fact, let me offer my services to lead these troops." Lester aggressively stated.

"My good friends, we have managed to bring this land back from the brink of darkness. We saved this land, but that was two decades ago. Not only did we achieve something great then, but then we set out to rebuild our ailing land. Even there we were successful. This land no longer needs me, if I die I have good faith that my son can carry on with friends to guide him. I must show that I am still a King that will still fight for the injustices of the world."

"Don't say that honey, we still need you. Your friends still treasure your life, and the people still need you."

"Tinny, you think I'm going to my death?" Celice shook his head, "I refuse to die in this distant land. For that reason I don't want you or my sister to come. Unfortunately Julia I do want Lester to come with me." Tinny knew that at this point Celice wouldn't be dissuaded from his stance.

Faval rose from his seat as well, "My lord, you didn't mention any of the Grandbell Dukes that you wanted to come with you."

Celice nodded, "You're right, Faval I want you to come with me. Also get Johan in Dozel and Oifaye in Chalphy. Also if you manage to find Sety call him as well."

"I will ready my troops as well," Cain said with an eager smile on his face.

"No, you've done your part already. To make the initial stand against an army of the creatures is enough and the cost was a good portion of the legendary Cross Knights of Nodion. I want you to stay and be a part of the defense while we are away." Celice watched as Cain sunk back into his chair. "Besides, my son and Dalton will need your strength along with Abel's to help guide the land in our absence."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I suspect that since I will be personally leading Grandbell's forces many of the other rulers will come themselves. This will most likely leave their children in charge, and out of them you, Aden, and Abel are the most well known. Therefore they will all look to you for guidance." Celice smiled, "It is almost as if the three sworn brothers Eltosian, Sigurd, and Cuan have come full circle in their descendants."

"Well, I will go assemble my forces, but where should we return to my lord."

"I believe we should assemble in the Manster district in Lenster castle." Faval nodded and turned to leave, "Oh Faval."

Faval turned around, "Yes lord Celice."

"We are leaving this castle, I agreed to being call things like 'Lord Celice' and 'Your Majesty' only because Levin said it would be pivotal for the image others would receive. We are leaving the castle so you don't have to refer to me like that anymore. Just Celice will do," Faval smiled at the words and took his leave. "Lester, get the runners to the others and I will start assembling our own forces."

"I view time not as ever-changing or set in stone, but a series of pivotal points. For example, I do not think that everything you do creates a brand new future. Rather I see it as a question and answer. Every once in a while Time will offer those who live within its boundaries a question. Perhaps 'are you satisfied with the state of the land?' or 'would you like to obtain more than you have?' and every question that is asked those who live within Time answer. Granted there are always dissenting opinions, but given time one opinion manages to emerge. Time always chooses to accept this answer, no matter how it may come, and then lets us experience the effects of our decision. Then after a period time Time proceeds to ask us first 'are you satisfied with your last choice?' and in this fashion time continues as a series of pivotal points."

"Well," Gideon paused, "I like to see time as set. There are those who are born to try and challenge the peace in the world, and eventually there is one who is born to defeat that evil. It may seem a tad grim, but time seems to occur like that. While saying that 'no matter what you do you will fulfill your destiny' may seem a bit much it is ultimately true. Have you tried to sit down and do nothing, but eventually you become tired of sitting and you move to something else. We people can try and change our destiny or determine its path, but that is ultimately futile. Your destiny controls you, but that doesn't mean it is a bad thing. Everyone's destiny is unique and can only be fulfilled by one person."

"Then you can take whatever interpretation with this card but know that change is coming soon. I do not know your exact role in this change, but I know it will be a significant part of your life." Gideon grabbed the card and slid it into his pocket. "Take care young prince," was the last words the fortune teller managed before Gideon left the small booth. She sighed deeply after the prince was far away, "I hate it when I read such devastating fortunes, it tends to affect everyone that the person comes into contact with on a regular basis.

Bahara Castle (1 week after the battle near Nodion)

"I'm glad you came Cain, and with such haste at that." In the throne room Cain stood before a seated Celice completely outfitted in his regal attire. Celice was quick to rise from his seat so as not to show disrespect towards his equal. "We should go somewhere private where you can discuss the details with me."

"Of course," Cain watched as Celice came down from the elevated throne. Cain felt uneasy in front of Celice and all of his accomplishments. Cain's feelings of inferiority appeared ever since Cain became the ruler of Augustria and began to be seen on the same stage as Celice. Just the fact that Celice was the 'Prince of Light' was enough to shatter Cain's confidence. Even the air that existed around Celice seemed to speak of his accomplishments. Cain was only standing on works that those before him had accomplished. Celice beckoned Cain to follow him and the latter did. The two entered a private room where Faval, Lester, Julia, and Tinny were already seated. "Cain, please take any seat you wish." Celice of course took the seat at the head of the table. Cain opted for the seat that was next to Faval.

"I'm surprised Faval, how did you get here so fast?" Cain asked.

"Most of it was protocol, to give aid to you I had to act without getting confirmation from Celice. While I have no doubt that he would have accepted my request and probably sent his own troops sending a rider to Bahara would have taken far too long. As a result I sent my knights back to Jungby and headed directly here to deliver my report. After I gave my account of the battle I opted to stay here for some time, purely on instinct."

"I see-"

Before Cain could continue Celice raised his hand to silence the table. "I'm sorry, but these matters are dire indeed. We have no idea when they will strike next, or what we will be fighting. So I must ask that Cain begin telling us the information needed."

And so Cain divulged the information to the members present in great detail...

___

Celice fumbled around with the information in his head. "I see, so these creatures call themselves Laguz, and they have been using a portal to travel across the uncharted seas in an instant."

"It strikes me as strange that they would not appear at the portal that they own, and chose to appear in the middle of enemy territory instead." Faval appeared to speaking the minds of those present as a majority of those in the room nodded in agreement.

Cain offered up more information, "He did say that they planned to use their portal to launch attacks on prime locations all over Jugdral. By striking while in the middle of a panic they would effectively take our important strongholds."

"I don't know," Julia began. "It seems to be a valid strategy. Still, you said even in their humanistic form they still had distinctive features that made them stand out as monsters?" Cain stayed silent, waiting to see where she would take the argument. "If that is the case we should have heard word of monstrous looking creatures in these past two decades of peace. So that would make their plan essentially useless because in all likelihood they have no idea where our strongholds are."

Tinny nodded, "I agree with Julia, I think this attack was purely a blind one. Perhaps a test of their portal?"

Cain slammed his hand on the table and stood up, "No, that is one thing I can not accept." He looked around the table, "That is one thing I will not see, that 'it was just a harmless venture'. They were definitely prepared for battle, I can not think of any other reason that so many of my valiant Cross Knights were defeated."

"I must agree with Cain, if those demons could speak then why would they not try and dissuade the fight if their venture was harmless? I move that we send our own troops through the portal located in Jugdral, all we need to do is defeat these defeat the demons that are in our immediate vicinity and then we can get a footing in their territory. From there we can find their portal and use it to ferry troops and supplies between."

Tinny turned to her husband. "The final decision is yours dear, I'm sure all you would have to do is speak and the whole land would move to guard against this threat."

Celice slowly rose to make his final verdict. "In this case we can't use defensive tactics because we have no idea what these people are capable of. At the very least we need to use their portal so we can see firsthand what we will be dealing with." Cain was satisfied and sat down. "Lester," Celice began, "I want runners to Shanan in Isaac, to Patty in Verdane, Leaf in Manster, and finally to Arthur in Silesia. Tell them that we'll take any support that they can offer, but to remember to leave enough troops for a serious defense should more come through in our absence. We can not enter this portal halfheartedly because we will be annihilated before we can secure their portal. We'll take as much supplies as possible, and I will be leading the venture personally."

"What? There's no need Celice! The people would be perfectly satisfied with you sending a trusted general to lead the venture. In fact, let me offer my services to lead these troops." Lester aggressively stated.

"My good friends, we have managed to bring this land back from the brink of darkness. We saved this land, but that was two decades ago. Not only did we achieve something great then, but then we set out to rebuild our ailing land. Even in our second venture we were greatly successful. This land no longer needs me, if I die I have good faith that my son can carry on with friends to guide him. I must show that I am still a King that will still fight for the injustices of the world."

"Don't say that honey, we still need you. Your friends still treasure your life, and the people still need you."

"Tinny, you think I'm going to my death?" Celice shook his head, "I refuse to die in this distant land. For that reason I don't want you or my sister to come. Unfortunately Julia I do want Lester to come with me." Tinny knew that at this point Celice wouldn't be dissuaded from his stance.

Faval rose from his seat as well, "My lord, you didn't mention any of the Grandbell Dukes that you wanted to come with you."

Celice nodded, "You're right, Faval I want you to come with me. Also get Johan in Dozel and Oifaye in Chalphy. Also if you manage to find Sety call him as well."

"I will ready my troops as well," Cain said with an eager smile on his face.

"No, you've done your part already. To make the initial stand against an army of these creatures is enough and the cost was a good portion of the legendary Cross Knights of Nodion. I want you to stay and be a part of the defense while we are away." Celice watched as Cain sunk back into his chair. "Besides, my son and Dalton will need your strength along with Abel's to help guide the land in our absence."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I suspect that since I will be personally leading Grandbell's forces many of the other rulers will come themselves. This will most likely leave their children in charge, and out of them you, Aden, and Abel are the most well known. Therefore they will all look to you for guidance." Celice smiled, "It is almost as if the three sworn brothers Eltosian, Sigurd, and Cuan have come full circle in their descendants."

"Well, I will go assemble my forces, but where should we return to my lord."

"I believe we should assemble in the Manster district in Lenster castle." Faval nodded and turned to leave, "Oh Faval."

Faval turned around, "Yes lord Celice."

"We are leaving this castle, I agreed to being call things like 'Lord Celice' and 'Your Majesty' only because Levin said it would be pivotal for the image others would receive. We are leaving the castle so you don't have to refer to me like that anymore. Just Celice will do," Faval smiled at the words and took his leave. "Lester, get the runners to the others and I will start assembling our own forces."

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**Sage:** The next chapter will move the major conflict to the Tellius stage. So expect to see what has happened to your favorite characters next time. As always read and review.


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